The present invention is directed to attachment systems for the holding and/or display of objects. More specifically, the present invention provides an easily assembled standardized attachment system for use in, for example, the holding and display of various objects, such as caps, identification tags, and similar objects.
Systems are known for the holding and display of objects such as hats, badges, whistles, keys, and so forth. These systems generally comprise a cord or similar wire-type material that may be worn by a person, for example, around the neck or around the wrist. Attached to the cord is an attachment piece, such as an alligator clip or a hook, for holding various objects. For example, in the case of an alligator clip, a badge or other object to be displayed can be secured by the alligator clip. Also, in the case of a hook, a whistle or keys can be attached to the hook.
These holding/display systems are inflexible, limited to a single type of attachment piece per system. Thus, a manufacturer that would like to provide display systems for badges and also provide hat keepers or attach different types of cords or wire-type materials to the system would need to manufacture entirely separate systems for each purpose. The manufacturer will thus be unable to flexibly respond to demand for any specific type of display/holding system.
One solution to this problem is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,256 issued to Anscher (xe2x80x9cAnscher ""256 patentxe2x80x9d), expressly incorporated herein by reference. In the attachment system described in the Anscher ""256 patent, different attachment sections (such as a clip hook or gripper) can be used with a single base and cord combination. In this system, the base section is composed of two pieces which, when interlocked with each other, allow the cord to be secured at one end of the base section and mate the base section to the attachment section at the other end.
However, the process for assembling this system is complex for the manufacturer. The cord cannot be secured at one end of the base section between the top piece and bottom piece before or after the attachment section is mated to the base section at the other end, because interlocking the top piece and the bottom piece secures the cord and mates the attachment section to the base section at the same time. Therefore, in order to create a usable product, all of the components in the attachment system (top piece of base section, bottom piece of base section, attachment section, and cord) must be assembled at the same time. A retailer or consumer could not purchase a set quantity of assembled base sections separately from a set quantity of different types of attachment sections and cords and connect up the sections of the system to each other and to the cords after each section of the system has been fully assembled.
The present invention provides an easily assembled standardized attachment system with a structure for coupling attachment sections and base sections that accommodates different base sections and different attachment sections, as well as different cords and objects for display. The base section can be made of one or more pieces. The attachment section (for example, a snap hook or clip hook) for holding and displaying objects such as hats, badges, whistles or keys is coupled to the base section. A cord (for securing the attachment system to a holder or person) can be separately coupled to the base section before or after the attachment section is coupled to the base section. Since different base sections and different attachment sections can be used with the same coupling structure, an attachment system can be provided which is both flexible for use in various situations and easy to assemble.
In an exemplary embodiment, the attachment system of the present invention comprises a base section rotatably coupled to an attachment section. The base section may be constructed of two pieces that interlock, allowing the cord to be secured to the base section once the two pieces have been secured together. The base section may also have a tab on the top piece, allowing the attachment section to be secured to the base section before or after the two pieces have been secured together. Exemplary means for securing the attachment section to the base section may involve snapping a post on the attachment section into the tab on the base section which has a predefined opening on the base section. The post may be a swivel post with an enlarged cap permitting the tab on the base section to engage the lower edge of the enlarged cap. This configuration gives the added benefit of rotational freedom for the object being held and displayed. The enlarged cap may have a spherical or conical shape. This configuration gives the added benefit of facilitating the snapping of the post into the tab. Exemplary means for coupling the cord to the base section are also provided, including, for example, a crimping arm, multiple forked members, and multi-toothed member.
The base section may be formed out of any suitable material which is elastically deformable to permit the tab to secure the attachment section to the base section once the post is snapped into the tab. Molded plastic is preferable for both the base section and the attachment section as being lightweight and aesthetically pleasing.
In an alternative embodiment, the base section may be comprised of only one piece and may have a similar shape to the shape of the attachment section (having a clip hook, a snap hook, or a gripper element), except that such a base section would have a female portion, such as a predefined opening, which, when mated with a male portion, such as a post, on the attachment section, would secure the attachment section to the base section. The male part on the attachment section may still be snapped into the female part on the base section. However, in this embodiment, the base section and attachment section can be interchangeably used: one section for securing the cord to the attachment system, and the other section for securing the object to be held and displayed (such as hats, badges, whistles or keys) to the attachment system. This configuration gives the added benefit of providing a more simplified mode of manufacture and assembly. The manufacturer could, in essence, manufacture the attachment systems by fabricating clip hooks, snap hooks or gripper elements, giving some of them male portions, such as posts (making them attachment sections), and giving the remainder female portions, such as predefined openings (making them base sections). The assembly would only require snapping an attachment section into a base section, and then securing the cord and object to each section. This configuration also presents an even greater flexibility for the consumer, since the consumer can interchangeably use different hooks or gripper elements for each section in the attachment system depending on their specific needs for the type of object to be held and displayed and the type of cord to be used to secure the object to a holder or person.